Despite trading their first pick, the Blue Jays 2020 draft class is trending well

Fun fact, we’re a month and change away from the 2023 MLB Draft.

Over the past three drafts, the Blue Jays have done a great job finding good players, and the COVID shortened 2020 draft is no better example of that.
In a series of three articles, we’ll look at every player drafted in the past three draft classes.. Let’s start with the 2020 draft class.
5th overall pick: Austin Martin
It was quite a surprise to many when Austin Martin fell to the Blue Jays in the 2020 draft. In fact, looking at mock drafts at the time, most had him going second or third in the draft.
Unfortunately for Martin, he hasn’t quite lived up to his draft position. The Blue Jays aggressively promoted the then 22-year-old to Double-A, where he slashed .281/.424/.383 with two homers in 250 plate appearances with the Fisher Cats.
However, he and Simeon Woods Richardson were packaged to the Minnesota Twins for starter José Berríos. With the Twins Double-A team in 2021, he slashed .252/.399/.381 with three homers in 168 plate appearances for a 120 wRC+.
In 2022, he repeated the level but significantly regressed. In 406 plate appearances, the then 23-year-old slashed .241/.367/.315 with two homers for an 89 wRC+. It’s also worth noting that Martin stole 34 bases in 39 attempts, but his professional career hasn’t fared too well so far.
Martin has missed all of the 2023 season due to a UCL sprain (something that has plagued the 2020 Blue Jays draft class) …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

3 Eastern Conference playoff free agents Raptors must watch

3 Eastern Conference playoff free agents Raptors must watch

The Toronto Raptors are likely well aware of the fact that they won’t be able to compete for a championship if they keep their team together as currently constructed. As such, the 2023 offseason promises to be one of the biggest in recent memory for the squad. The Raptors have their eye fixed firmly on […]
3 Eastern Conference playoff free agents Raptors must watch – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Raptors: Nets tried to pull off Fred VanVleet for Spencer Dinwiddie trade

Raptors: Nets tried to pull off Fred VanVleet for Spencer Dinwiddie trade

Despite the fact that the Toronto Raptors have both Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet on the roster, the Brooklyn Nets made the first big trade deadline splash. Kyrie Irving was nominally shipped off to the Dallas Mavericks in a move that sent shockwaves around the league. The Irving trade has not been made official yet, […]
Raptors: Nets tried to pull off Fred VanVleet for Spencer Dinwiddie trade – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank

5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank

While the Toronto Raptors can take comfort in the fact that they have everything at their disposal needed for a deep postseason run, not every team is gunning for championship glory. In actuality, we may witness a historic tank job thanks to the performance of consensus No. 1 draft prospect Victor Wembanyama. The hype around […]
5 trade targets Raptors can add due to Victor Wembanyama tank – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Meet the Sellers (sort of): Miami Marlins

Fun fact: The Miami Marlins have made the playoffs three times in their 30-year  existence. The first two times, they won the World Series.

Is it fair to call the Marlins sellers? I’d argue they still have a shot as they’re only four games back for the final wild card spot, but they have a lot of high ceiling players on their team.
Sure, the Jays only have four more wins than the team from Florida. Regardless, we’ll look at expiring players as well as a position where they have a surplus of talented players.
Joey Wendle:
We’ll start with the position player. Did you know that Joey Wendle has been to an all-star game, representing the 2021 AL East winning Tampa Bay Rays?
Statistics:
Joey Wendle’s 2022 season can be characterized as a contact hitter. This season, he’s slashing .267/.326/.338 with two homers (Miami does have a pitcher’s ballpark) in 129 plate appearances. His BB% sits at a solid 7%, but he rarely strikes out, as he only has a K% of 10.1%. His 2022 wRC+ sits at 105.
In his all star season, he posted a .265/.319/.422 slash line with 11 homers in 501 plate appearances. His wRC+ sat at 106 and he had a low BB% of 5.6% while his K% skyrocketed to a career high 22.6%. After this season, Wendle was traded for former first rounder, Kameron Misner, who’s ranked as the Rays thirteenth best prospect.

Joey Wendle – Miami Marlins (2) pic.twitter.com/0YBiPn8ZYu
— MLB …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation